Few things disrupt daily life quite like vertigo. That sudden spinning sensation, the feeling that the room is tilting around you, and the unsteadiness that follows can make even simple tasks feel overwhelming. If you’ve been dealing with recurring dizziness or vertigo, you’ve probably tried various remedies and may be wondering what else might help.
Chiropractic care is one option many people don’t initially consider for vertigo, but it can be surprisingly effective for certain types of dizziness. At Premier Chiropractic Center in Bessemer, Dr. Roshun Glover has helped patients find relief from vertigo symptoms and regain their sense of balance and stability.
Understanding Vertigo
Before exploring how chiropractic care can help, it’s useful to understand what vertigo actually is and what causes it.
Vertigo is not simply feeling lightheaded or faint. It’s a specific sensation of movement when no movement is occurring. Most people describe it as feeling like they’re spinning or that the world around them is spinning. This false sense of motion often comes with nausea, difficulty balancing, and sometimes headaches or ringing in the ears.
Several different conditions can cause vertigo, and identifying the underlying cause is key to finding the right treatment approach.
Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV) is one of the most common causes. It occurs when tiny calcium crystals in your inner ear become dislodged and move into the wrong part of the ear canal. This sends confusing signals to your brain about your head position, triggering that spinning sensation. BPPV episodes are often brief but intense and are typically triggered by certain head movements.
Cervicogenic Vertigo originates in the neck rather than the inner ear. Problems with the cervical spine, including misalignments, muscle tension, or joint dysfunction, can interfere with the sensory information your brain receives about your body’s position. This type of vertigo is often accompanied by neck pain or stiffness and may worsen with certain neck movements.
Meniere’s Disease involves fluid buildup in the inner ear and causes episodes of vertigo along with hearing changes and tinnitus. While chiropractic care cannot address the fluid imbalance directly, it may help with some associated symptoms.
Vestibular Neuritis results from inflammation of the vestibular nerve, often following a viral infection. This can cause sudden, severe vertigo that gradually improves over time.
How Chiropractic Care Addresses Vertigo
Chiropractic care can be particularly effective for vertigo that has a cervicogenic component, meaning it originates from issues in the neck. However, even vertigo with other causes may respond positively to chiropractic treatment.
Cervical Spine Adjustments
Your upper cervical spine plays a crucial role in balance and spatial orientation. The top two vertebrae, known as the atlas and axis, are located very close to the brainstem and the structures that control balance. When these vertebrae are misaligned, they can affect blood flow to the brain, put pressure on nearby nerves, and disrupt the signals your brain relies on to maintain equilibrium.
Gentle chiropractic adjustments to the cervical spine can help restore proper alignment, reduce nerve interference, and improve communication between your neck and brain. Many patients with cervicogenic vertigo notice significant improvement after their neck alignment is addressed.
At Premier Chiropractic Center, Dr. Glover uses gentle techniques like the Activator Method, which delivers precise, low-force adjustments that are especially well-suited for the delicate upper cervical area.
Improved Nervous System Function
Your sense of balance depends on your nervous system accurately processing information from multiple sources: your inner ear, your eyes, and sensors in your joints and muscles called proprioceptors. Your brain integrates all this information to know where your body is in space.
Spinal misalignments can interfere with this complex system. When the spine is properly aligned and the nervous system is functioning without interference, your brain receives clearer, more accurate signals. This can help reduce the conflicting information that contributes to dizziness and disorientation.
Addressing Muscle Tension
Tight muscles in the neck and upper back often accompany vertigo, and sometimes contribute to it. Muscle tension can affect blood flow to the head, compress nerves, and alter the sensory feedback your brain receives from your neck. Chiropractic adjustments help relax tense muscles by restoring proper joint motion. When joints move correctly, the surrounding muscles don’t have to work as hard to compensate, which allows them to release and relax.
The Epley Maneuver for BPPV
For patients whose vertigo is caused by BPPV, chiropractors can perform repositioning maneuvers designed to move the displaced crystals back to their proper location in the inner ear.
The most well-known of these is the Epley Maneuver, a series of specific head and body movements that guide the loose crystals out of the sensitive part of the ear canal. This procedure is quick, non-invasive, and often provides immediate relief. Many patients experience significant improvement after just one or two sessions.
Dr. Glover can assess whether BPPV may be contributing to your symptoms and perform the appropriate repositioning techniques if needed.
What to Expect from Treatment
If you visit Premier Chiropractic Center for vertigo, your first appointment will include a thorough evaluation. Dr. Glover will ask detailed questions about your symptoms, including when they started, what triggers them, how long episodes last, and what other symptoms accompany the dizziness.
A physical examination will assess your neck mobility, spinal alignment, and balance. Specific tests may be performed to help determine whether your vertigo is related to your cervical spine, inner ear, or other factors.
Based on this evaluation, a personalized care plan will be developed. This might include cervical adjustments, repositioning maneuvers for BPPV, or a combination of approaches depending on your specific situation.
Many patients notice improvement within the first few visits, though the timeline varies depending on the underlying cause and how long you’ve been experiencing symptoms. Some cases resolve quickly, while others require ongoing care to maintain results.
When to Seek Help
Occasional mild dizziness isn’t usually cause for concern. However, you should consider seeking care if your vertigo is recurring or persistent, if it’s affecting your ability to work or perform daily activities, if it comes with other symptoms like severe headaches, hearing changes, or difficulty speaking, or if it developed after a head or neck injury.
While chiropractic care can help many people with vertigo, it’s important to rule out serious underlying conditions. If your symptoms are severe or accompanied by warning signs like sudden vision changes, weakness, or difficulty walking, seek medical attention promptly.
Find Your Balance Again
Living with vertigo can be exhausting and frustrating. The good news is that many cases respond well to conservative care, and you don’t have to simply wait for it to go away on its own.
At Premier Chiropractic Center, Dr. Roshun Glover takes a thorough, personalized approach to helping patients overcome vertigo and dizziness. If you’re ready to stop the spinning and get back to feeling like yourself, book your appointment today. Our Bessemer office welcomes patients from throughout the Birmingham area who are looking for natural solutions to their health challenges.
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